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Chris
 May 22, 08 - 3:23 PM |
911
(The following is from wkow.madison.com) CONTINUING COVERAGE: Dane County Board members to introduce motion to add more 911 dispatchers From Dane County news release: A motion to immediately add additional needed 911 dispatchers will be introduced Thursday night at the Dane County Board. The motion, authored by Supervisors Jack Martz, Eileen Bruskewitz, Ronn Ferrell, and others would • Direct the 911 Center director to use a nationally recognized system used by the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials (APSCO) to immediately assess needed dispatcher staff and report back to the County Board by its next meeting on Thursday, June 5th. • Allow the County Board, in consultation with the County Executive, to make current budget adjustments to accommodate the new dispatcher hirings at that meeting. • Requires the 911 Center director to report monthly statistics to the County Board from the Centers’ Telephone System, including call volumes, average hold times, and dropped calls. “We’re sponsoring this motion because all indications are that additional dispatchers are needed at the 911 Center. This resolution will ensure that resources are immediately directed to this critical service. “While a proposal to belatedly add a few positions is a nice gesture, it doesn’t go far enough. That is exactly what happened after the release of a study four years ago that actually recommended adding eight positions. We won’t make that mistake again. We’ll add two positions immediately, and come back in two weeks to finish the job.” We would expect the County Executive and Board to support additional positions if needed at that time. “There are recognized national standards for assessing staffing needs for 911 Centers. Let’s put them to work now, not later. If we are indeed short dispatchers by those standards, it’s time to get moving.” On the issue of budget adjustments, “The County Executive and the Board need to prioritize spending to make sure calls for help are answered. It will already take months to make the hires and train new dispatchers, and we’re wasting time having committee meetings and pondering burning even more taxpayer dollars for new studies while calls go waiting. “We are asking that direct reports from the 911 Center director are made to the County Board because there’s a crisis of confidence in our 911 system. The Board and public have been denied information for weeks, and we need to rebuild the confidence lost. Public accountability is a good first step.” “One thing that is clear after weeks of public concern and expressed by almost 100 people at a public hearing Monday night – 911 is a priority, and the time for action is now. Whether it was ordinary citizens, Dane County Sheriff’s deputies, sexual assault victim advocates, local elected officials or others the message was clear: Act now. Right now.” “While there are numerous other issues to be dealt with, the most immediate is making sure that when someone in distress needs help and makes that call – that the County’s 911 system will answer their call for help and respond immediately. The Brittany Zimmerman case shows that hasn’t always happened, and that has to change.” A call to 911 is the one service the county provides that every single man, woman and child in the county needs to work correctly when they are in distress. This motion will get us to that point as fast as possible without bureaucratic delays, lack of information, and more studies.” |
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Chris
May 22nd, 2008 - 3:47 PM |
Re: 911
I haven't made any remarks or posted anything concerning the 911/Dispatch Center, I felt that people are going to believe what ever they want to believe regardless if it's the truth or not. Then I read this article. I am amazed by the lack of information the County Board or Supervisors (what ever they want to be called this week) have. After reading this article it proves that they still do not really understand how things operate at the 911 Center. Readers, this "solution" is a quick fix that isn't going to work right away as they want it to. They (the three Supervisors that had this town meeting) think that you can hire 2 new dispatchers in 2 weeks and have them working on the floor. WRONG, it isn't going to happen. They can hire 2 more dispatchers, but it still takes 10-12 weeks to train them before they're by themselves. SO, we'll have 2 more dispatchers in 10-12 weeks and there is suppose to be another group of new hires starting at the end of fall anyways. Before these people are able to be part of the "system", without having to tie up a training officer, it's going to be the end of the year. That isn't a fix to the problem at all. Also, there isn't enough positions to sit more people in the center (at this time. Yes, these people are trying to make changes and make sure what happened doesn't happen again. We at the Comm Center are thankful for that, BUT, they need to look at more practical solutions; 1. A complete remodel 2. An updated continuning education program 3. Computer programs that work with each other 4. Stop making public safety their last concern Just some parting food for thought, Dane County 911 Center was opened in 1989. It hasn't moved and few minor remodels have been done to the center. This is the dispatch center for PROGRESSIVE Dane County, the room hasn't really been changed in almost 20 years. Juneau County Wisconsin, one of the smaller counties in the state as far as square mileage and population, their 911/Dispatch Center has had 3 major moves and or remodels (new building or new rooms) since 1994. Lastly, Thank you to all the people and departments that have supported us and sent encouraging words to us the past month, it means more to us then most people think. 
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